"Young Master Mavi, welcome back." The maid, Anfiya, dressed in a black silk maid outfit, jogged over and greeted Mavi proactively.
Mavi casually acknowledged her greeting and then asked, "Has Winnie been attending her lessons properly these past few days?"
"Yes, Young Master Mavi! Winnie has been behaving very well these past few days. Even the teacher praised her for being obedient!" Anfiya responded gently. After two weeks of adjustment, she had already become quite competent in her role.
Moreover, her employer, Mavi, was a gentleman—unlike those other lecherous masters who would harass or even try to take advantage of their servants.
Hearing this, Mavi picked Winnie up in his arms. The little polar bear was indeed well-behaved, quietly resting on his shoulder without moving around. Mavi figured that this might be the only time in his life he could actually hold a bear. Once Winnie grew up, he would be the one getting bear-hugged…
"Time to eat." The feeling of being home was always better than being outside. At Mavi's command, the waiting servants and chefs promptly gathered in the hall, standing in a neat row.
Mavi randomly ordered a few dishes and, while waiting for the servants to serve them, played with Winnie.
"Winnie, catch!" Mavi casually tossed a silver yarn ball toy toward the corner of the living room.
Winnie, who had been lying on the floor, immediately perked up, opened her mouth excitedly, and ran toward the toy. She picked it up and carried it back to Mavi.
"Good girl!" Mavi took the yarn ball from her. If he remembered correctly, this toy, made entirely of sterling silver, was actually a luxury item from Tiffany's. It was one of only five handcrafted limited-edition pieces and cost a staggering $3,000!
The world of the rich was truly incomprehensible. A toy for a pet costing $3,000—about 24,000 RMB—was the very definition of "pets living better than humans."
"Young Master Mavi, it's time for dinner." After playing with Winnie for a while, Anfiya gently reminded him that it was time to eat.
"Alright." Mavi got up and walked over to the dining table, watching as the servants placed dish after dish of exquisite food in front of him.
After a few days of rest at home, Mavi planned to visit a large military factory on the outskirts of Moscow and buy two tanks! He hadn't decided on the model yet, but that didn't matter. He had plenty of money, and his investments in the U.S. had been successful, so spending a bit wasn't an issue.
After enjoying his fine dinner, Anfiya escorted Mavi back to his room to rest. The year 2000 didn't offer much in terms of entertainment—there weren't many online games, no live streaming, and no smartphones.
So, Mavi simply lay lazily on his bed, enjoying Anfiya's massage service.
"Young Master Mavi, is this pressure alright?" Russian women, even young ones, had considerable strength—after all, they belonged to a nation with a long tradition of fighting. Delicate and fragile women wouldn't survive in Russia.
"Mm." Mavi lay on the soft bed, feeling Anfiya's silk-clad feet pressing and moving rhythmically on his back.
Below the bed, Winnie, the little polar bear, tilted her head in curiosity, wondering what the two of them were doing…
---
After resting and adjusting for two days at the villa, Mavi set out for the tank factory in the suburbs of Moscow. This massive facility covered an area of 200,000 square meters—four times the size of his own weapons factory.
As his convoy arrived at the front gate of the vast military plant, Mavi spotted an old friend who had been waiting for him—Nikolai.
This friend, who was about the same age as Mavi and drove a Porsche 911, was the heir to this very military factory. The two had met while studying in the UK and had maintained a good relationship since then.
Nikolai stood at about 1.75 meters tall, had a slender build, and naturally curly hair that drooped like a teddy bear's fur. He had just returned from studying in the UK last year and was now learning the ropes at his father's military plant.
"Haha! Mavi! Long time no see!" As soon as they met, Nikolai, dressed in a black down jacket, enthusiastically hugged Mavi.
"Long time no see, Nikolai." Mavi also extended his arms and embraced his familiar yet somewhat distant friend.
"Haha! How was your trip? I heard you went to the U.S. recently? How many girls did you hook up with?" True to form, Nikolai wasted no time steering the conversation toward women.
Mavi chuckled, "Would you believe me if I said none?"
The moment he finished speaking, Nikolai immediately shook his head like a rattle drum. "No way, no way—you must have had plenty!"
Mavi raised an eyebrow but didn't bother arguing. At that moment, Nikolai grinned and said, "I heard over the phone that you want to buy two tanks? Come, let me show you around first."
"Sounds good." Mavi got into Nikolai's bright yellow 911 sports car and was driven to an enormous factory building.
"This is where we assemble the tanks. If you see a model you like, just let me know." Nikolai said as he slowly drove the Porsche into the warehouse filled with tanks.
From inside the car, Mavi finally laid eyes on the legendary "King of Land Warfare"—battle tanks! Giant steel war machines were being hoisted by cranes and loaded onto tank transport trucks.
Having grown up in peacetime, Mavi had only ever seen tanks on TV. He had never witnessed them in real life before.
He had once read online that tanks were driven straight out of the factory after being built. Now, he realized that they were actually secured onto specialized flatbed trailers and transported away.
"These are all main battle tanks. Mavi, you should recognize them, right? This one here is the T-72, which entered service in 1971. The one across from it is the T-90, which started service in '95…" Nikolai enthusiastically introduced the models. His family's factory primarily produced the T-72 and T-90 tanks.
Mavi gazed at the T-90 main battle tank being lifted by a crane. Weighing 46 tons, it was armed with a 125mm smoothbore cannon capable of firing both standard shells and guided missiles. The top-mounted machine gun could even be replaced with an automatic grenade launcher, depending on customer preference…
Seeing these powerful steel war machines, Mavi once again felt his inner desire for destruction stir!
"How much for a T-90 tank?" While other rich kids bought sports cars, private jets, and yachts, Mavi went straight for tanks—his level of extravagance was on a whole different scale!
"We're old friends, so I'll give you the usual discount—$350,000 per tank!" Nikolai grinned. The arms business was getting tougher each year, and large orders were becoming increasingly rare.